"Person of Interest": Michael Emerson on future of Finch and the Machine

By Lauren Moraski

March 18, 2014 / 8:31 AM
/ CBS News

The cast members of CBS' hit drama "Person of Interest" work pretty long hours -- many of which are spent outside, and this year they faced an additional obstacle: bad weather.

Filming in and around New York City caused a few hurdles as snow storm after snow storm battered down the East Coast.

"The New York winter, particularly this New York winter, has been rough," said Michael Emerson who portrays Harold Finch in "Person of Interest," alongside castmates Jim Caviezel and Kevin Chapman.

Emerson recalled shooting during a major snow storm in New York City's Madison Square Park earlier this year. "It was all outdoors -- all day. And the snow came earlier than what was expected. So by mid-day...we're all covered with snow -- they have to come with brushes and de-ice us between scenes," he said.

The show, which is winding down taping for season 3, just got renewed for a fourth season. Emerson said it wasn't a huge surprise to hear the news because of the show's solid viewership, but he's grateful nonetheless.

As for the remainder of the current season, Emerson said story lines that are already in motion will play out even further.

"There is competition to the Machine out there, and the Machine itself is not playing by the rules any longer. So it's a very scary time for our heroes -- whether they'll get numbers, whether they'll get the right numbers, or whether they're being played. There's a lot of that going on. We continue to crank out episode after episode of social security numbers and people that need our help," Emerson told CBS News.

Emerson said he hopes that his character -- a billionaire software genius -- grows more complicated in the seasons to come. "You begin to see the cracks in the veneer that you may have taken for granted at the beginning," he said.

"Mr. Finch may be more tired and more certain than he was at the beginning of things, and he has more morale dilemma I think now that the Machine has gone rouge in effect and that the forces allied against him -- it must make him sleepless. They seem so powerful and so numerous and insurmountable," said the 59-year-old actor.

In Tuesday's (March 18) episode, the Machine assigns Root (Amy Acker) to seek out a janitor with a mysterious past, but when her presence puts his life in danger, Finch also receives his number.

Emerson, who's married to actress Carrie Preston, will sometimes sit down with his family in New York to watch the show.

"If I've seen it before and the rest of the family hasn't, I will sit through it one more time just because it's fun. You can do commentary as it goes along," he said.

Like tell the back-story of shooting on that icy-cold day in Manhattan.

For more on "Person of Interest" and Emerson's interesting career path (he's worked as a carpenter and magazine illustrator), check out our sit-down interview with him above. It includes a preview of tonight's episode.

We also asked Emerson to answer some of your Twitter questions -- check out his answers in the video above.